The Inadvertent Farmer

Friday Funnies

 

My personal

Leaning Tower of...

Kids????

 

 

Got Rhubard? Rhubarb Apple Bake...

My family loves it when I make this yummy dessert.  It is a fine way to use up all that rhubarb we seem to have this time of year!

I posted this recipe of at Not Dabbling In Normal

Weed...Who Says???

I do not have a manicured lawn...

I barely have what would be considered a lawn.

It is actually pasture grass that we just happen to keep mown down right around the house.

So when I see one of these little beauties I don't freak out, no I just smile at its cheery yellow color and go and get my camera.

There is a lot to be said for not having a manicured lawn!

 

First Batch, Second Batch

Or first litter and second litter...

Big ones and little ones...

First family, second family...

I have heard our situation described in all of the above ways along with

Crazy,

Nuts,

"No Way, not me...ever!"

I have been asked the question so many times that I am at a loss for an original answer to...

"Why in the world would you want to start over just when your kids were about grown and you could have your lives back again???"

 

Well for all of those who doubt the sanity of having two batches of kids 13 years apart here is the best reasons I could give!

 

These two are 21 years apart!

When I was 21 I had my oldest son.

When my oldest son was 21 I had my last son.

I'll let you ponder that for a moment...

 

 

19 years apart and both loving soccer...and each other!

 

 

 

 

Always having a captive audience for your latest ballet moves!

 

 

Big goof...little goof!

 

 

Having an older cousin is just too cool!

 

 

"Knock knock..."

 

 

Yes I know all of the reasons why some think us nuts...

But when all is said and done

And our oldest ones go off to college, first jobs, and new lives, we will still have this...

 

 

And I thank God each and every day for the privilege of getting to be parents...

Again!

 

 

What could be lovelier than a Lilac?

 

What could be lovelier than lilacs in full spectacular bloom?  I cannot think of anything that just drips of spring's essence more that lilacs...

So what could be better than the intoxicating sight of lilacs?

 

How about a whole hedge of them with some garden ornamentation?

 

 

Or maybe lilacs with the hills behind them?

 

 

A lake in view... couldn't be any better could it?

 

No, nothing is better than the sight of lilacs in the spring...

Except...

 

Getting close enough to bury your nose in a handful...

Inhaling deeply...

and...

Heaven!

Now seriously nothing is better than that!!!

The Newest Member of the Funny Farm!

 

Hopalina Carrot

Yep...that is what my Sweet Girl named our newest member of the farm family!

This cute little bunny was an impluse buy at our local feed store.  Sweet Girl wanted the bunny with the white fur and pink eyes but I'm sorry pink eyes creep me out!  So we brought home home this mixed breed (Flemish Giant/California cross)

I have yet to build a proper cage so she/he (not sure which yet...) resides along the back wall of the garage for now.

 

Hopalina is enjoying checking out her/his new home...

 

 

And planning for future escapes!

 

 

The kids think having a new pet is so much fun,

Until...

 

 

Their empty growly stomachs get the best of them and it is off to have homemade granola under the cherry trees....

Even breakfast in bed can't beat breakfast outside on a beautiful spring day!

 

Now, I know you are all wondering

"What do the other animals think of your new addition?"

 

Well the llamas are rather unimpressed...

 

And the big guy?

 

He is shamelessly ignoring the new little guy...

I guess camels just can't be bothered with bunnies...go figure!

 

Guess This Bloom...

 

Any ideas as to what this is? Pretty isn't it?

Not your typical bloom...

Follow this link to find out what it is!

 

And don't forget... things are looking up!!!

Friday Funnies

 

Watering the Baby

We don't water the lawn around here...

But we do water the kids!!!

For the love of Camillias!

 

Ohhh how I love the blooms of a camellia bush.

First they remind me of a rose...then a water lilly, either way they are stunning!

It isn't only the flowers but the bush is beautiful with shiny dark leaves that are evergreen....yep year 'round beauty.

The bushes that these grow on are over 10 feet tall...

They are luscious!

 

 

 

And oh they come in white too!!!

These are blooming outside my dining room window...

Makes it hard to concentrate on my food!

 

Gotta love 'em!

 

 

The New Lake Garden!

At our lake cabin we have so many trees I have yet to find a spot that would be suitable for a garden. It makes it fun for having lots of swings, forts, and shade but the lack of direct sunlight is a huge handicap to my gardening!

 Luckily for me I have a wonderful neighbor at the lake that has plenty of room for gardening.  She lives on 'A Summer Place Farm' next door.  Last weekend we cleared out a spot that had been growing roses that were not earning their keep.  We pulled them up and they were replanted elsewhere.  When we were done we had a small square of land that is just the perfect size for a small easy to manage garden!

 

The soil was a wonderful loam with relatively few weeds (thanks to years of landscape fabric).  My only concern was the lack of worms.  Adding organic matter should take care of this.  Having been covered for years I'm sure was the reason for the absence of the little guys.

 

 

We planted 6 tomato plants and a small patch of kale.  Next we are going to put in a hill of potatoes, some bush beans and onions.

It took us a few hours of work but the companionship and conversation was wonderful.  My sweet neighbor is almost 80 and loves to share stories...and my sweet girl and I love to listen.  It was a perfect way to spend a lovely afternoon in a beautiful spot.  Yes life doesn't get much better than this!

 

Besides...

 

I got to get rid of a few of the tomatoes that have seemed to take over my patio table!

What was I thinking starting 70 tomato plants????????

 

Some Perfect Mother Moments...

As a mom of 5 children I have had the usual frustrating, hair-pulling, why did I have children moments, but...

I have had far more of the, ahhhh, isn't that adorable, I love my kids moments,

In fact I am going to share some of my favorite moments with you to remind us all why we became mothers in the first place...

 

The very first flutter of life I felt in my first pregnancy

The doctor laying my slimy red baby on my chest and telling you "Good job...he's perfect!"

The first time I knew that I was completely in love with my daughter.  It was in the hotel after our first night alone together, she was 3 days old...realizing that to love an adopted child feels exactly the same as loving one you gave birth to.

Seeing my babies drift to sleep, breast milk dripping out of the corner of their mouths.

The first time a toddler ran and hid behind my legs because he thought I could save him from any stranger no matter how big or scary they were.

The funny sounds newborns make in the crook of your neck.

The first "mama"

Having my 2 year old run and hug my legs and yell "mama" like he hadn't seen me for days...even though I had just left the room for a moment...this happened 5 minutes ago!

Knowing you are someone's whole world.

Having a grade schooler wave to me from the front of the church while mouthing "hi mom"

Watching a little league game

Waking up on the weekend with a bed full of kids.

Seeing mysons treat the young women around them with courtesy and respect.

Hugs when they come home from college.

Having a daughter to read Little House on the Prairie with.

Having a daughter that wants to be Laura Ingalls!

"Congratulation...its twins"

Knowing I have two more girls that I will one day get to spend eternity with.

Seeing my hubby dress up and take his sweet daughter to the father daughter dance.

Sewing with ribbon and lace

"Mama...I wuv you  t   h   i   s   much!"

Seeing my impossibly small newborn and having the faith to know he would be ok.

Getting to take my tiny son home from the NICU on Mother's Day.

A three year old building a house for his pet ant.

Mission accomplished...he's potty trained!

Hugs and Kisses in abundance!

 

 

Thanking God every day that I'm their mother...

 

 

Preparedness...am i ready?

I posted this morning on being prepared for the unforeseen.  As I planted beans the other day I considered all that being prepared means to me and my family.  I also came to the conclusion that I have a few things I need to attend to...

Come read the post and join in the discussion over at 'Not Dabbling In Normal'

 

And just because I'm hungry...

Hmmm I bet you're hungry now too!!!

Friday Funnies VIII

 

Flour Child

Come visit next week for the whole story behind this picture!

First Walk Together

As any of you that read my blog know my mom lives on the property right below ours.  Sweet Girl walks there almost daily...she has for years now.

She has decided that it is high time her baby brother learn to walk to Grandma's too...

So a few weeks ago at the tender age of not quite 2 Baby Boy walked with his sister for the very first time down the hill to visit his beloved 'Dama'

 

I of course being the kind of mom I am, followed behind them, trying to be unseen...

 

 

Because I have an overwhelming need to document every first with my camera!

 

 

On a side note...notice that funny looking bushy thing this side of the drive?  It used to be a noble little tree.  Because the elk ate the top off of it, it is now a little tree trying to decide if it will be a funny little bush or a deformed tree...sigh

 

 

As they walked Sweet Boy kept his eyes on the road as Sweet Girl...

 

 

Well she did what Sweet Girl does best...talk!

I know that more words have come out of her little girl mouth in 6 short years than any of my big boys spoke in their first 18...seriously, I'm not kidding!

Do all little girls talk so much?

Did I talk that much?

Did my sister talk that much?

Now I realize why my dad lost his hearing and didn't want to use hearing aids...his ears were just tired, they needed a rest...he had raised two girls, his ears needed some peace!

 

 

Sweet Girl is also a 'hand talker'...I think her hands and mouth are somehow cosmically connected!  If her mouth is moving so are her hands.  It makes her very animated and great fun to watch, even from a distance when I have no idea what she is saying!

 

 

Now Sweet Girl knew that I was following them but chose to ignore me...

Baby Boy was clueless as he was on a mission.

Boys are very task oriented...he had a job to do and he noticed nothing around him, certainly not his camera toting mother who was trying her best not to laugh out loud at their cuteness!

 

 

When they got to the end of Grandma's drive Sweet Girl started high-stepping it!

 

 

As the driveway is quite steep Sweet Girl gave her best sisterly encouragement...

 

 

"Come on little sweetie...you can do it!"

I heard her say...

She calls him sweetie a lot.

Its fine for now, but I'm bettin' he's gonna object to that by about grade school age!

 

 

Drat...I've been discovered!

"Hi Baby!"

I don't know if you can tell but Sweet Girl was giving me her best scrunched up, why are you following us look!

 

 

Notice that when Baby Boy discovered me behind him that he didn't yell 'mama' and rush into my arms...

No he flat out sprinted with his sister to see who could get to Grandma first. 

I know my place...

I am just the mama...

Never to be as cool and fun as the grandma!

The Problem With Wide Open Spaces...

We live on 10 acres of land...the land is a perfect square...it slopes south.

Our house in in the exact middle of this square.  All sides of the house are surrounded by fields.

There are some great advantages to our property...

There are some disadvantages too.

Seeing how this is Monday and I usually don't really love Mondays alot, (especially Mondays that start with doctors appointments for the kids in which they both get their shots...) I am going to cover one of my pet peeves about this place...

It is that everywhere you look is a wide open space.

There are no intimate little spots in which to sit, no rose covered arbor under which to read a book, no private corner surrounded by ivy covered brick walls besides which to sip tea...

Just wide open space...everywhere!

That is why I don't plant sweet little flowers like these...

Flowers like these would be engulfed by the openness of our place...

You would hardly notice them!

 

 

No I need big gawdy flowers like sunflowers and hollyhocks, dahlias, and giant alliums!

I need to do something about this...

I want a sweet little place in which to drink some lemonade, read a gardening magazine or just have some peace and quiet...somewhere private...somewhere hidden...somewhere secret!

I am going to have to think on this a bit, maybe draw up some plans...

hatch a scheme...

stear a course...

Somehow I am going to have to tame just a little of the wide open space to make it a little less wide and a lot less open.

Then I'm going to plant some flowers that are so sweet and so tiny that every time I sit next to them I am going to wonder how anything could be so impossible cute!

 

Yes this is what I'm going to do...I think somehow I am going to build myself a secret hideaway...a secret garden!

As soon as I know when and how I will let you in on the project.

For now I would love to hear from any of you that have such a place...

What makes your private places in your gardens special?

What are my 'must haves'?

What are my 'must not haves'?

 

Thanks...now I'm off to weed in my wide open space!

 

Why Bother With Raised Beds???

I have written a post over at 'not dabbling in normal' about the reasons for...and some against using raised beds in your garden.

Here is a picture of Sweet Girl in the garden when she was just little!

 

Darn I wish she would quit growing so fast!

Friday Funnies VII

 

Hey Good Lookin'

I don't think I can add anything to this besides...

Welcome to the world of living with a camel!

 

He's such a ham!